9 December 2010: They Asked for It Diplomatically;
I Answered, "Appeasement?"
The day after President Obama faced the nation with the deal he had worked out with the bullish Republicans, a five-minute version of it was circulated around the country on U-Tube, along with a plea for reactions.
With some amount of reluctance rooted in my negativity, and with some amount of relief, too, I wrote the following:
I wonder how the tax cut expiration got entangled with the extension of unemployment benefits altogether. It should not even be a bargaining point, but a given. I wish President Obama had spent more time in the Senate before becoming president. Joe Biden could be helpful here, working backstage and bargaining. I would expect that, with all his experience, we might have done better--we being the middle and lower classes, mostly Democrats.
I think more skilled politicians could have stood up to McConnell and Boehner and manipulated far better than a few crumbs of cheese from the grandees. What caused the unemployment? We have to eradicate the disease, not one symptom of it and then be told by the president that it's not perfect but look--we got something out of it. A salary increase of $1,000 a year? That will evaporate before we can sneeze. The money that the Republicans save if their tax cut is extended could cure all the ailments of our economy several times over: insure the uninsured, house the homeless, employ the jobless rather than extending that small fraction of their former income called "unemployment compensation."
Why are these people unemployed? Because the McConnells and Bohners of the world can grab lots more money by keeping them in that situation.
I'm not asking to sit in the oval office in any capacity. And I do appreciate what Mr. Obama has tried to accomplish as much as I appreciate what he has accomplished. But as far as extending the tax cut, it may be that we'll be out of the loop altogether the next time it comes up for a vote, because the GOP have no morals and will stop at nothing. Let's pray that the Democratic "fathers" in the Senate get really strong. I don't want anyone to go hungry, but an extension of unemployment benefits just shouldn't be so costly--and how the heck is any of this going to enrich our economy?
I have stood behind Obama throughout his tenure and will continue to. He and his copartisans need to take some boxing lessons--hunt up some still-living pros if they're around and get their help and their moxie, because we'll certainly need more of it when Congress returns in January. Look how far the Republicans, though a minority, have progressed, shoving around their moxie and the power that their billions have bought.
I'm going to say this, too--that I would not want to be the first black president within such a white-dominated administration, especially up against people I believe are closet racists. Obama succeeded magnificently in our WASP culture all the way into the White House. I pray that he doesn't become a black bound, gagged, and immobilized within a white spider web, if he's not there already. We need to fight fire with fire, just like the CIA, who has done such a good job protecting this country from terrorism, not by compromising with terrorists. I feel that the GOP in this country are terrorizing the vast majority of this country with their wealth and power and immorality.
Strength is what we need. The people who stand out in history were often the ones who refused to compromise and might have lost it all if they did. Who knows?
The bill as it stands is one of appeasement, not always the best policy.
It's an uphill battle after January. Thank God Blue kept the Senate.
Lots and lots of luck to the Obama administration. The president has to turn to his own people more and worry less about the GOP and "making nice." Because there will be no reciprocity.
An honest patriot,
Marta Steele
